The bakers wouldn't budge because, as they "rightly saw it, they were being asked once more to prop up Teamster jobs." Hostess' bakery operations were actually pretty efficient. But its distribution was a mess.

Don't blame the striking bakery union, which is, at worst, "guilty of perfectly justifiable attempted homicide." No, the real problem was the Teamsters.

Drivers weren't allowed to help load or unload shipments.

Wonder Bread and Twinkies had to travel in separate trucks.

The company was, it said in court, "unable to profit from many of their existing delivery stops," or to enter juicy markets like vending machines or movie theaters.

Bakery jobs, meanwhile, "have become crummy-paying thanks to previous givebacks," and Hostess already planned bakery closures. So bakers decided to let the company liquidate and try their luck with new owners—even if it meant "throwing their Teamster brethren under a bus."

Aside: A quick survey by the National Bureau of Surveys shows that 71% of Americans hate union guts. Eighty-one percent of the 71% were union members.

And so more than 18,000 can now face the coming holiday season without jobs.